Snowballs

   Tea cakes, sandies, snowballs... call them what you will.  I call them magic.  As a kid, I literally thought these were magic cookies.  I didn't understand the concept of powdered sugar.  How it sticks to every thing in sight.  I thought the people who made these were geniuses!  These tender,flaky little Christmas staples are so easy!  (And require very few ingredients... in fact, you probably have everything to makes these in your house right now!)  But then again, kids are stupid and I was no exception.

Snowballs
1 C butter, softened
1/3 C granulated sugar
2 tsp water
1 tsp vanilla
2 C flour
1/2 C chopped pecans
1/3 C powdered sugar

   Cream together butter and granulated sugar.  Add water and vanilla.  Work in flour.  Fold in pecans.  Shape into 1 inch balls.  Place on ungreased cookie sheet.
   Bake 325 deg F for 25-30 min.  They will turn very lightly golden around the edges near the baking sheet, but you do not want them to brown.  Cool.  Dust in powdered sugar.  (A brown lunch bag works best... just do a few at a time.)
   Makes 2.5-3 dozen